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U.S. Rep. Waxman calls for 'comprehensive strategy' to safeguard antibiotics for veterinarians, physicians

Washington, D.C. -- The chair of a powerful U.S. House of Representatives committee called on veterinary medicine and human health for a "comprehensive strategy" to combat growing problems associated with antibiotic resistance.

U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce made the remarks during a subcommittee hearing titled "Antibiotic Resistance and the Use of Antibiotics in Animal Agriculture." Lawmakers heard testimony from six veterinary experts, the agricultural industry, public health and human medicine yesterday.

"As we will hear today, animals raised for food production are routinely provided antibiotics to prevent infections. In stark contrast to animals, we would be shocked if a pediatrician ever ordered antibiotics for an entire nursery school class to keep the children form being infected with strep throat. But in this country, that is standard practice for a barnyard full of pigs, or cows, or chickens."

"There seems to be universal agreement on yet another point: They key to reducing antibiotic resistance."
Waxman called on policymakers and stakeholders, including veterinary medicine, to develop a comprehensive, science-based strategy "designed to safeguard the vitally important public health tool that is our antibiotics. We must move expeditiously to slow the advancement of antibiotic resistance in both humans and animals," Waxman adds.

-Randall Singer, DVM, MPVM, PhD, associate professor of Epidemiology Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota